Stylus-picker



8. F. HUTCHES, JR.

STYLUS PICKER. APPLICM'ION FILED on. 6. I919.

Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

INVENTOR:

UNITED STATES BENJAMIN F. HUTCHES, .73., 0]? ALLENDALE, NEW JERSEY.

STYLUS-PICKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

Application filed October 6, 1919. Serial No. 328,947.

To all whom it ma concern Be it known that BENJAMIN F. HU'roHEs, Junior, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Allendale, county of Bergen, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stylus-Pickers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is a stylus picker, and has for its object the production of a simple and cheap device for picking up a single stylus from a receptacle in which a number are contained. While the present device may be used in a variety of positions or conditions, it has special reference to the stylus used on phonograph records.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure l is a plan;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevation, partly in section, of a art of the device; and

Figs. 4 an 5 are plan and elevation, re

spectlvely, of a modification.

In the said drawings, 10 is a bracket which is secured to a support 11 by the screw 12. Pivoted at 13 on the bracket 10 is an L- shaped arm 14 of hardened and magnetized steel.

The short arm 15 of the L has its extreme end 16 made of a smaller diameter than the rest and over this is a cover 17 of copper, hard rubber, or other non-magnetic material. Only a small point of the magnetized end extends beyond the cover or sheath 17.

The bracket .10 is secured adjacent to a receptacle 18 shown in dotted lines. This receptacle is for holding a supply of styli, and the L-sha ed arm normally rests with its magnetize end 16 upon the styli in the receptacle. The pivot at 13 is made loose so that the arm will fall to this position by gravity.

On the arm I provide a short PIOJBCtiOTl 19 to which a person may apply his finger to lift the arm from the full line to the dotted line position. When so lifted, one of the styli in the receptacle will adhere to the magnetized end 16 as is shown in dotted lines at 20. But not more than one can adhere at a time because the exposed magnetized surface is great enough to permit of contact with only one at a time.

It will be evident that if a supply of styli be placed in the receptacle 18, and the arm left to fall so that the magnetized end 16 rests upon them, then, if the arm be raised, one stylus will be separated from the mass and elevated to a position where it may be grasped conveniently by the fingers. If the arm 1s released by simply letting go of 1t, it falls again to contact with the mass of styli. When again raised, another stylus will be separated from the mass and elcvated. And so on as long as any styli remain in the receptacle.

In the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5, I provide an extension 21 to the bracket 10, which extension projects under the arm 14 and has an opening 22 through which the arm 15 passes. In this case the arm 15 is only a trifle larger in diameter than is the diameter of the styli to be lifted, and the hole 22 is of a size too small to permit two styli to pass through at the same time. Otherwise, the hole 22 is large enough to give free passage for the arm 15. The form of the arm 15 in this case is an arc of a circle whose center is at the pivot 13.

When the arm of Fig. 5 is raised, the magnetized end 16 lifts several styli, all of which adhere by reason of contact with the magnetized surface. But when they come to the extension 21, all but one are swept off because the hole 22 is only large enough to permit one to pass. The extension 21 therefore acts as a stripper and must, of course, be of some non-magnetic material such as brass.

I have shown the arm 14 as of L-shape. It ma in fact be of any shape, and be supporte in any way. The essential characteristics of the demos are a magnet provided with means such that, when the magnet is inserted into a mass of magnetic bodies and lifted, one of said bodies will be separated from the mass and elevated to a position at which it may be readil grasped. In other words, the device is designed to pick up styli one at a time from a mass of styli contained in a receptacle. The styli in the receptacle are not in any prearranged order, but are in any form in which they may ha en to fall.

at I claim is:

1. In a device for separating one body from a mass of others, a ma et, a support for the magnet upon whic support the magnet is movable to thrust it into and withdraw it from tho mass and means by Whieh upon Withdrawing the magnet from the mass one body only of those contacted by the magnet will remain magnetically attached thereto.

2. In a device for separatin one body from a mass of others, a magnet having one end partly but not completely oovered by some non-magnetic material, and a support 10 for said magnet upon which support the magnet is movable to thrust it into and Withdraw it from the mass.

BENJAMIN F. HUTCHES, JR. 

